One good A.J Burnett outing and 2 great Granderson catches equals advantage Yankees

AP photoCurtis Granderson saved the Yankees bacon with two spectacular catches and the first kept A.J. Burnett from an early exit.

Even A.J. Burnett finds a nut once in a while.

I had a hunch the enigmatic $82 million man would pull one out of his hat, but who really knew?

The final score was Yankees 10, Tigers 1, but Burnett came real close to imploding before the Tigers finished their first turn at bat.

A.J., who just has to live on the edge, walked three batters.

Yankees Universe was ready for the other shoe to drop.

And it nearly did, as Don Kelly hit a shot to center that Curtis Granderson initially misjudged and then snared as it seemed destined to sail over his head.

"If that ends up as a hit," said Yankees' manager Joe Girardi, "it very well could have changed the complexion of the game."

Changed the game?

How about ended the season.

If the Grandy Man comes up empty, it's 3-0 Tigers and Burnett is sent to the showers for Corey Wade.

That didn't happen -- and the Tigers let Burnett off the hook.

The Yankee offense subsequently woke up and worked over Rick Porcello, Phil Coke and Al Alburquerque.

On the flip side, the Bombers also got solid pitching efforts from Rafael Soriano, Phil Hughes and Boone Logan.

So now, it's back to the Bronx for a deciding Game 5.

For the Yanks, it's Ivan Nova, who has been their best pitcher. For Detroit, Doug Fister. I thought Jim Leyland might opt for Max Scherzer, who is 4-0 lifetime vs. the Bombers and no-hit them for like six innings in Game 2.

The bottom line is that everyone will be available for both teams.

At this point, it's advantage Yankees.

The Bombers are built for Yankee Stadium and Joe Girardi manages more aggressively at home, where they were 52-29 during the regular season.

And then there's Nova, who is growing in stature before our eyes.

“(Nova)’s been pitching well for us all year,” Derek Jeter said. “He pitched well the first playoff game. He’s got good stuff. I think the thing with him that stands out is his demeanor. He doesn’t seem like he’s fazed by too much. Maybe because he doesn’t speak fluent English and I don’t know it, but it appears to me like he’s pretty comfortable out there.”

“We have an opportunity,” Girardi said. “We have an opportunity to win a series. We fought all year long to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Hopefully we can get it done on Thursday.”

The guess here is that Nova gives the Yankees a gutty six innings, A-Rod has a big night and the Bombers grind out a 6-4 victory and advance to the ALCS for a rematch with the Rangers.